Just thinking back to when I started prepping

[pkveazey]

The wife and I started prepping in 2008 when the Democrats ran a nobody from nowhere for president and he won. We figured that was about as insane as it could get. Boy, I'm glad we started prepping because it has gone from sugar to shit. I can't begin to tell you all the stuff I've accumulated since then. I've prepared for everything except a direct hit by a nuke. The one thing that I've noticed is the general public is completely deaf to all my warnings and will continue to suffer from Normalcy Bias until the SHTF. We are right on the edge of it all going wrong and nobody seems to notice or even care. I've had just one person that I used to work with call me and ask about stacking Silver. I hope they at least found somebody who was willing to sell them some.

[RB in GA]

I was raised to be "prepared" I guess.  I was seriously in to the Boy scouts as a kid and really bought into the "Be Prepared" motto. Kept a "bug out" bag in my car way before the term was ever thought of. My old car had a penchance to break down 15 miles from the nearest phone and I used that bag a fair amount.

It was back when Reagan was President when I first started "prepping" on a "bigger" scale. Of course it was called being a "survivalist" back then. I blame Red Dawn.  I was on a very limited income and raising a family- I remember thinking "I'm going to make sure if everything goes to hell at least we'll be able to eat". And things kinda did on a personal level for while- and we did have food to eat because of prepping. So "Beans" came first.

The "Bullets" part came nad went over the years.  Sometimes I had to sell off things to make ends meet, but eventually I'm at place I can call comfortable with my armoury. I kick myself sometimes for some of the things I has to offload.  Mini 14's and my 1895 Marlin lever actions cause pangs of regret when I see them for sale these days. Don't see needing more "Bullets"-ever.

"Bandaids" came in a big way when I started nursing. I'm pretty good at it, though its been a few years since I did hospital work.  Pain clinic work was predictable and rather dull from a treatment perspective- but I got to meet a lot of really good people, mostly veterans.  Anyway, again I'm comfortable than short of surgery I'm in decent shape.

I've gotten some silver over the years and its finally at a point where I feel the investment was worthwhile. Its never been a huge thing for me, but reading Rawles got me into it.

Now that I'm retired I'm going to work more on gardening- considering wher I live its got to be container gardening, but the fresh food supplements to the larder and learn more about holistic medicine.

As far as others go, I rarely talk about it anymore.  When talks come up about it, I usually just say it never hurts to have enough to get through a tornado, hurricane or a snowstorm. I maybe get a nod or an agreement, but I doubt it matters.

[JohnyMac]

I know that I have written about this before but there are new folks here, so I will write again about our road to where we are today.

In 1987 we bought a 30' cruising (Blue Water) sailboat. In the end we lived on it for 11-years all told. We called the following ports our home at one time or another. Seattle, Los Angeles, Seattle again, Annapolis, Ft. Pierce FL., and then Rhode Island. We moved off the boat at this time and bought a house that was over the water for 12-hours a day.



Living on the boat we traveled extensively north along the west coast of Canada, then the south coast of California down to Mexico. On the east coast we traveled New England and south to Florida. For you folks that own or have owned a boat, every thing breaks down at the worse possible moment; Consequently, we prepped for all challenges that may happen in a cove along the British Columbia coast where the closest village was a days sail away. So parts was a big prepping item. Then add to that food and a nice selection of wine located in the bilge.

Although I owned a few firearms, this was a lessor concern for us.

In 1995, we moved off the boat onto the land as previously mentioned. We continued our prepping focusing mostly on food and firearms. What drove this was, I wanted enough food and money to get us through a year if I lost my job. We started increasing our depth in firearms due to President Clinton's push for "gun control".

I was at a level in the work world that you never had job security. When you are in a senior management role, one day you are Gods greatest business leader, then the stock drops $3- a share, not due to your fault, and you are Satan. LOL.

Sometime in the early 2000's a friend introduced me to a novel by James Rawles, titled Patriots. I read the book twice within several weeks. Once for entertainment then a second time with a yellow highlighter in hand.

By 2005, my brother and I bought 35-acres in NE Pennsylvania. We immediately bought a 12x20' shed which we winterized. The shed became a life preserver for when the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI. My brother called it "the LEM" (Lunar Excursion Module).

In 2006, after a new CEO joined the company, who thought that the existing senior management team didn't embraced the new vison, let me and others go. When a door is closed, the Lord opens another one. In essence, I took a year off. Reevaluated our lives and moved onto a new path.

Got reacquainted with our Lord and Savior, made life at the redoubt even better, prepared for a SHTF scenario, and had fun. During this time, MrsMac and I lived off our food preps and our rainy day cash supplies. The 'golden parachute' money we received from my past employer was invested, put in a saving's account, and used to buy tangibles for the planned cabin build.

About 9-months into my first retirement an offer came from a small retail chain that wanted to expand. The offer was good and I got to do what I enjoyed in the business world. So I went back to work. Our preps were brought back up to one year levels, bought and sold a few firearms to arrive where I thought we should be, and planned then prepped for the new cabin.

After 22-months with that company, I found a local company that needed my expertise. They wanted to expand their retail presence so they made me an offer I could not refuse. Money was good, and I did not have to travel as much as I had in the previous company, which was 42 weeks out of 52. Then the 2008 Great Recession arrived. I reread Patriots and got back on track.

That job lasted about 24-months before the owner eliminated most senior positions which meant I was unemployed again. No golden parachute this time however, we had our preps. 

I looked at this as a sabbatical given to me by the good Lord. We built a 1,400 sf log cabin from kit, I started a business consulting company with a past employee, and started writing about prepping. As more and more folks read my writings, I was invited by groups to give lectures and facilitate demonstrations on prepping.

This is MrsMac and my prepping journey. Most of you know the rest.

    

What is your story?

[Cracked Prepper]

Although I always considered it mere prudence to be ready for unexpected inconvenient events, I became a serious prepper in 2015, when a co-worker asked me a life-changing question.  I had been complaining about yet another ISIS atrocity, while no one seemed to take it seriously.  He listened, then looked at me and said, ?let me get this right: you still don?t have a weapon??

I didn?t grow up with weapons, and I had never encountered a serious threat, so I didn?t give it much thought.  But I couldn?t escape the question.  And each day I became sickened with how our leftist government was hellbent on demolishing every shred of freedom and constitutionality.  This is not the same world I knew when I was younger.  And the question was still there, ?you still don?t have a weapon??  I decided I could either assume responsibility for my safety and survival in this increasingly unstable world, or I could continue to just hope that nothing bad ever comes my way.

Knowing nothing about firearms or the law surrounding them, I began arming myself and my family.  We took classes from qualified instructors, earned our carry permits, and began acquiring arms and ammunition.  We became members at a local range for regular practice.  We began stockpiling food and water.  I practiced multiple methods of cooking.  I acquired a 4WD truck and turned it into my bugout vehicle, equipped with tools and supplies for several days away from home.  I earned my extra class radio license, joined a ham club, built a home station, portable station, and installed a radio in my truck.  I took classes in Krav Maga, and I will soon be testing for my blue belt.  I started taking strength training seriously and am proud to say that at age 58 I am stronger and in better shape than I?ve ever been. 

In 2018 we decided to find and live at a bugout location, so we moved to a property on 6 acres, set back from the road and secluded in trees.  I installed a transfer switch so that the home can be taken off the line and operated on generator.  We stockpiled more food and firewood, practiced multiple methods of cooking, and set up water filtration.  I put up a 40-foot radio tower with a hexbeam antenna and two verticals, and built a GMRS repeater to enhance local communications for non-licensed persons.  Our 3 children are away at school, so I provided them with bugout bags for their cars if they need to hit the road unexpectedly.  I also provided them names and addresses of several radio hams close to each of them, so they can contact home in the event of communication failure.  My wife is learning sewing and other skills, and we have started a garden this year with heirloom plants grown from seed.  I have a long list of additional projects (larger woodshed, orchard, etc.) for when I move to partial retirement in a few years.

Throughout all of this, it has been a challenge to keep operational security.  A casual visitor would think we were just amateur gardeners, since the visible pantry is modest, no weapons or stockpiles are in sight, and even the radio tower is hard to find in the trees behind the garage. 

I have multiple sources to thank for their inspiration and knowledge.  Unchained Preppers and American Partisan are high on the list.  Additionally I include authors Rawles and Forstchen, my radio Elmers, my self-defense, firearms, and fitness instructors, and numerous others who share their expertise in books and websites.

[grizz]

As a cub scout we were told to always be prepared and that was the beginning

[Jackalope]

    I started back in the early 1970's, after reading Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, as part of an English course in high school.  A Canticle for Liebowitz, Day of the Triffids, and No Blade of Grasswere also part of the course.  Living not too far from a couple of primary/secondary nuclear targets was definitely a motivator.  Living in what was then a rural area, I often camped and hiked, so I developed outdoor skills at a young age.  If I remember correctly, the first time I camped out by myself, I was 8 years old.  Times were different back then.

    The Reagan era re-invigorated my survival lifestyle.  I lived in a rural area, that was chosen specifically for long term survival.  Around that time I purchased an H&K 91 and an UZi carbine, and of course, lots of ammo(early 1980's).  We had a homemade fallout shelter in the basement, and a nice little 20 acre homestead in a rural area near the NY/VT border.  It was a great place, but metro NYer's were buying up the surrounding land at a frantic pace, as they looked for the safety of a rural location.  We ultimately decided to move to a more remote area, which was essentially the center of the Adirondack Park, the largest park east of the Mississippi.  After 30 years living with 7 months of winter each year, I decided to move to a warmer climate where we would have a longer growing season.

      So, I've been a survivalist for well over 40 years, thanks to a high school English course that initiated a life long interest in keeping my family and friends safe.

[Felix]

My start at "prepping" began in Scouting with the motto "Be Prepared".    Which in boyhood terms started with always having that emergency dime in your pocket.   My, how the mere flutter of a butterfly wing doth spawn the current of air which becomes a wind...
Real awareness of serious prep advantage/necessity came when I went to Alaska and worked in canneries at remote locations and then on board fishing boats as a crewman.    It was simply "normal" to lay in sufficient stocks of needed supplies and parts because weather and remoteness meant "resupply" could be seriously delayed.   Never went through agonizing over "conspiracy-nut" fears.   
There's something about heavy weather and having to travel or try to work in it that brings a special awareness to folks.  I think an appreciation of how small we are and how powerful things we can't control can be that makes it easy to see that "normalcy-bias" is just plain stupid.
Today's news is taking some of the stigma out of prepping concept.   Regardless, I think the prepping concept is about to receive multiple injections of validation and we'll look much the wiser before things ever return to "normal" again.